


The Demon Barber of Schitt's Creek

by Tailor1971



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, College, Coming Out, First Kiss, Goth David Rose, M/M, Meet-Cute, different first meeting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:02:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28230591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tailor1971/pseuds/Tailor1971
Summary: Patrick is cast as the Demon Barber of Fleet Street in a college production of the musical Sweeney Todd. David, a gorgeous but intimidating senior, has embraced a Goth aesthetic and seems like the perfect person to help him prepare for the role. As they talk, a secret is revealed and they discover that as opposite as they may seem, they have an undeniable chemistry.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 12
Kudos: 75
Collections: Schitty Friends Gift Exchange 2020





	The Demon Barber of Schitt's Creek

**Author's Note:**

  * For [blackandwhiteandrose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackandwhiteandrose/gifts).



> This is a prompt fill for a holiday fic swap. The prompt was as follows:
> 
> What if candy raver asymmetrical haircut David HAD met baseball playing, star of the musical, and president of the future business leaders of America club Patrick?
> 
> The other suggestions in the prompt were that the story could be a college AU, and feature a Goth David instead of a candy raver David.
> 
> I decided I would throw in a first kiss in addition to an alternate first meeting, because why not?
> 
> And there was a 2000 word limit. Here we go.

David sketched quickly as the concept for the set design took shape in his mind. “We can make all of the buildings curve inward at the top, almost as if the town and his thirst for revenge are trying to swallow him whole.” The student next to him nodded and jotted down some notes of his own. David was a little surprised that the drama department had decided to stage a production of  _ Sweeney Todd _ , considering that the plays chosen for the previous two seasons -  _ The Rink _ and  _ Barnum _ \- had been almost laughably tame. But here was a chance to be a part of a production with a dark mood and aesthetic. He wanted more than anything to make sure they didn’t fuck it up.

A few feet away, Patrick stood backstage, enveloped in a protective cocoon of darkness. The version of David standing in front of him was so different from the one he remembered in the Rose Video holiday cards. He tried to superimpose the two men but found it difficult - the leather jacket, torn jeans, and heavy boots contrasted too sharply with his memory of David’s crisp black suit and shiny dress shoes. It wasn’t until he caught a glimpse of David’s eyes that he saw something familiar. Even though they were ringed with a heavy application of eyeliner, they were the same eyes that had been burned into his memory. He’d fantasized about talking to David for years, longing to know the man who sat stiffly with a forced smile for a family portrait. Now he was right there, intimidating as hell with his wild hair and spike-studded bracelet.

Patrick looked down at what he was wearing. A blue button up shirt. Why couldn’t he just have worn a T-shirt like everyone else? He smoothed his hands down his shirt, tucking it in a bit more. Then he shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels.

_ He’s just a person.  _

Patrick shook out his hands to release some nervous tension and stepped out from behind the curtain. He strolled over to where David was standing, trying to project an air of nonchalance. He cleared his throat - a harsh, grating sound that echoed on the stage and was far louder than Patrick intended. He recoiled a bit as David turned to face him.

“Uhhh…,” Patrick’s mouth felt like it had been packed with cotton. “I...hmmm…” He squared his shoulders. He could do this. “I was wondering if you could help me?” His words sounded sharp, almost snarky - it was the tone that always took over when he was nervous. He cringed internally. 

David gave him a blank stare. When Patrick didn’t say anything more, David put his hands on his hips and glared at him.

The student David had been talking to looked really uncomfortable. When the silence finally became too awkward, he clapped David on the back. “I gotta bounce. Catch you later, man.” 

David raised a hand for a half-hearted goodbye wave. His eyes narrowed as he watched his friend walk off the stage. He was annoyed that Hayden was going to leave him alone to deal with...whatever  _ this _ was going to be. He returned his gaze to the auburn-haired guy who had approached him. He must have been a theatre nerd, although he looked more like someone who might work in the registrar’s office. “And you are…?”

“Oh! I’m Patrick. Brewer.” He thrust his hand in David’s direction.

David regarded Patrick’s outstretched hand with obvious suspicion, but finally relented and gripped it in a firm handshake. “David Rose.”

“I know,” Patrick said. Then he winced and averted his eyes. A pink flush bloomed on his cheeks.

Now David was intrigued. It wasn’t uncommon for people to recognize him - he had minor celebrity status because of his family’s work in television. However, he was pretty certain that the man in front of him had never paged through a tabloid. “You wanted my help?”

“Yeah, right. So, I got cast as Sweeney Todd.”

David raised his eyebrows. “You’re going to be the Demon Barber of Fleet Street?” He rubbed his fingertips over his lips while he nodded slowly. Patrick wasn’t exactly sure what thoughts were running through David’s mind, but he was certain they were similar to his own.

“See? I don’t think I’m believable as the character either. I was cast because of my voice. But Sweeney Todd is consumed by a murderous rage and hellbent on revenge. How do I embody a character that dark? I’m kinda, um...vanilla.”

David looked Patrick up and down. Blue dress shirt. Cheap jeans. And dear lord, a braided belt paired with hiking boots. “Vanilla? You don’t say.” His words dripped with sarcasm. Hurt and disappointment darkened Patrick’s features. David’s cruelty had cut him, and he felt an uncharacteristic twinge of remorse. He softened his tone to one that he hoped sounded genuinely curious. “Why me?”

Patrick shrugged. “You seem to be in touch with your dark side.”

David almost protested that characterization. There was so much more to his involvement with the Goth community than just embracing the beauty in darkness. But he brushed it aside, thinking it might be amusing to see if he could put Patrick in touch with his own dark side. It had to be in there somewhere, lurking underneath all that cotton-polyester fabric.

The only problem was he didn’t exactly know how to help Patrick. David wasn’t an actor, but he was on set sometimes when his mom was filming episodes of  _ Sunrise Bay _ . Although his mother was a constant source of frustration to the directors since she basically did what she wanted despite their notes, he thought he remembered enough to at least get started. 

“I think the key is to draw on an experience from your past? Like, when was the last time you were really angry?”

After a moment’s contemplation, Patrick answered. “When my roommate locked me out of our room so he could have sex with his girlfriend.” David tried and failed to suppress a grin. “Look, I had a test the next day and the notes I needed to study were in the room. And I think they did it twice.”

“Well, that’s definitely inconsiderate, but I doubt it’s going to stir you to the height of murderous rage.” Patrick grinned back at him and huffed out a self-conscious chuckle. David felt a little flutter inside. Patrick had beautiful eyes, warm and honey-colored. Despite his smile, David thought he detected an undercurrent of sadness in Patrick’s expression. 

A sudden inspiration seized David, and although he was worried that it might be pushing things too far, the urge to proceed anyway was irresistible. ‘Ok, let’s try a different approach. Rage is a primal emotion. So is fear.” Patrick was nodding his head, which emboldened David to continue. “Close your eyes. Think of what scares you - but not something like heights or spiders. Something about  _ yourself _ that scares you.”

As David watched Patrick worry at his lower lip with his teeth, he realized that he wanted to know what fears and insecurities lurked in Patrick’s subconscious mind. He almost reached out to place a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. But then Patrick’s breathing sped up just a little. 

“Do you have something?” David asked. He kept his voice soft. “Tell me what it is.”

Patrick’s eyes flew open as the color drained from his face. He shot furtive glances at the students who stood talking in small groups throughout the auditorium. “Here?”

“Yes. Give your fear a voice. You’ll gain power over it - power you can draw on for your performance.”

Patrick searched David’s eyes. They were the eyes of a stranger. He felt like he had known David for years, but of course he hadn’t. Despite that, he knew instinctively that he could trust David with the secret he’d been holding onto for so long. Memories of his past crushes crowded his mind: boys from the neighborhood, baseball players, action movie stars, and of course his most enduring crush - his infatuation with the young man that he first saw on the Rose Video holiday cards.

He steeled himself to say the words. Even though he knew there was nothing wrong with what he was feeling, his greatest fear was that once he said it out loud, once he finally and truly admitted it to himself, everything would change. Keeping his eyes locked on David’s, Patrick took in a shaky breath and spoke his truth. “I think I might be gay.”

“Oh.” 

David’s one word response hung in the air between them. Patrick felt raw, exposed, and more vulnerable than he could ever remember feeling in his life. A wave of shame and nausea crashed through his body. 

David’s eyes went wide when he realized what was happening and he sputtered out a response. “Patrick, that’s ok, it’s great, actually. It’s just not what I expected to hear.”

“You’re the first person I’ve told,” Patrick said, his voice a mere whisper.

David was floored. “Wow. Thank you for sharing that with me.” 

Patrick smiled, a sheepish little smile that warmed David’s heart. 

David really saw Patrick for the first time since he had walked over. He was stocky, with broad shoulders, strong thighs, and some of the most muscular forearms David had ever seen. His lips were soft and pink, his pale skin flawless. His eyes were kind and David knew he was a good person. A small flame of desire started smoldering in David’s gut.

“Have you ever kissed a man?”

Patrick jammed his hands into his pockets. “No. I haven’t.”

“Kiss me.” David blurted it out before he could change his mind. 

Patrick’s jaw fell open. “What?”

“Stare down the fear of being different and take power from it.” He wasn’t sure why he was still pretending this was part of some acting exercise. “Kiss me.”

David really didn’t think Patrick would do it. Not when they were literally standing on a stage in front of at least twenty people. He looked like he wanted to run away. Or faint, and then get up and run away. But Patrick surprised him by closing his eyes and leaning in.

David felt the timid press of Patrick’s lips against his. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to get lost in the moment, feeling the warmth of Patrick’s body and smelling the clean scent of Irish Spring soap.

Patrick was trembling. David cradled his jaw and put a hand around his waist. He felt Patrick relax into his touch. After a moment’s hesitation, Patrick wrapped his arms around David’s waist.

Patrick started moving his lips with sweet, tender brushes. As kisses went, this kiss was chaste, almost virginal, but it stirred up a welter of emotions in David. Arousal, certainly, but also the desire to know Patrick, to protect him, to hold him close and feel his heart beating next to his own.

And too soon, it was over. Patrick pulled back and gazed into David’s eyes. That kiss felt like his first time. David’s size, the scratch of his stubble, his overall  _ maleness _ \- it all felt right. 

“Thank you, David.”

“How do you feel?”

“Good. I don’t know if this is going to help me portray Sweeney Todd, but I’m glad it happened. I’m really happy we’re going to be working on this play together.”

David nodded his head. “Me too. Talk to you later?”

“Yeah. See you later.” Patrick headed backstage, but after a few steps he turned back and gave David a tentative wave. David waved back, eliciting a bright smile from Patrick before he disappeared into the darkness.

David looked down at his sketchbook. He shook his head in disbelief and wrote  _ Patrick Brewer _ in the upper corner. He wasn’t sure what just happened - probably nothing - but he felt good. It seemed he might have another reason to look forward to working on this play.

  
  



End file.
